Hierarchical Modes Of Governance Research Articles

Self-Governance via Intermediaries: Credibility in Three Different Modes of Governance

This article analyzes the emergence of new forms of regulatory intermediation in three different modes of governance. It compares the emergence of the European data protection and Facebook’s content moderation regimes and raises three questions: How did self-regulation in the European data protection and Facebook’s content moderation regimes evolve over time? What are the similarities and differences in the design of these regimes? And what are the strengths and weaknesses of these regimes in promoting credible self-regulation? To answer these questions, the article process-traces the development of the two regimes and shows how intermediaries and intermediation are used in order to systematically and progressively increase credible governance via market, network, and hierarchical modes of governance. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of these three modes of governance, it is concluded that they can be used as blueprints for designing hybrid modes of enhanced self-regulation. In this way, the article introduces ways to capture and study new technologies of regulation that facilitate, manage, and improve the credibility of self-regulation in complex polycentric governance regimes, and well beyond.

Policy discourses for reconnecting nature with society: The search for societal engagement in Dutch nature conservation policies.

The recently published EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 emphasizes nature’s benefits to humans. In line with wider shifts in nature conservation discourses in many European countries, moving from nature’s intrinsic value towards its instrumental values, the EU strategy strongly focuses on a ‘Natural capital’ view. In this context of a European wide search for business opportunities and societal engagement in nature conservation, this article investigates efforts from Dutch governments to strengthen the link between nature conservation and society. Over the past 10 years, policy responsibilities for nature conservation in the Netherlands have been decentralized from the national level to the twelve provinces, who have employed a variety of approaches to stimulate societal engagement in nature conservation.Through discourse analysis, we show how the previously hegemonic “Ecology First” discourse – a hierarchical mode of governance with a strong focus on intrinsic values – has transgressed towards a more flexible and adaptive "Partnership for Nature" discourse, with a strong focus on aligning with local stakeholders through network governance. In addition, we describe the emergence of three new discourses: a “Green Economy” discourse, capitalizing on ecosystem services to unleash new financial resources; a “Relational Nature” discourse with a strong focus on people’s connections to nature; and a “Democratic Nature” discourse focusing on nature’s intrinsic and relational values combined with a mosaic governance approach. While the EU Biodiversity Strategy focus on natural capital aligns very well with the Dutch Green Economy discourse, the EU strategy gives little attention to the relational and democratic dimensions of societal engagement.Based on our analysis, we show that changing modes of governance relate to changes in values of nature. Government’s need for new conservation partners requires opening up for new values of nature. In addition, changing values of nature require a change in governance structures to allow new actors to participate and contribute. The increasing focus on natural capital and green economy at the European level may be a first step in such diversification. However, we argue that Europe needs to develop additional strategies beyond instrumental values, to allow for further diversification of values and include all stakeholders from society.

Structure, governance and challenges of networks in the public sector: the case of the power network in Pakistan

PurposeWith governance networks as the critical emerging feature of public administration, this article examines the structure, governance and challenges of networks in the public sector. Using complexity theory, this article explains that control-based relations do not hold much relevance to govern the complex systems of networks.Design/methodology/approachCase study research design is employed taking the power network in Pakistan as the unit of analysis. Data were collected through eleven semi-structured interviews, companies' websites, government policy reports and other companies' reports. The structure of the power network was examined through the technique of social network analysis using UCINET. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted with the help of NVivo 13 to identify the mode of governance and challenges.FindingsThe study found that five central public sector actors have a high degree centrality and betweenness centrality. Thematic analysis further revealed that these actors are controlling most of the decisions in the network in a hierarchical mode of governance. Other actors face multiple challenges including lack of autonomy, overlapping authorities, conflicting rules and complex decision processes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings imply that instead of top-down and control-based relations, networks require self-governance mechanisms where actors independently participate and interact with other actors to generate common solutions to problems.Practical implicationsThe authorities should use network management strategies, participatory approaches and consensus-building methods to reach decisions.Originality/valueThe study explores the network structure and network governance challenges in the context of a developing country that is barely addressed in the public management literature.

Imagining Cities of Inclusion—Formulating Spaces of Justice

This introduction underlines some of the topics the present thematic issue focuses on, such as segregation and security, control and creativity, resistance and networking, presenting continuities and changes in urban governance and urban justice in different parts of the world. We argue that urban theory should be rethought to consider cities as fora that recentre the ‘political’ in relation to gentrification, rights to the city, justice, and alternative urbanisms. We highlight structural aspects of urban policy and planning, including the intersection of mega-development projects with disruptive acts of social dispossession and efforts to depoliticise institutional control. Simultaneously, we emphasise tactics that reinterpret hierarchical modes of governance and create initiatives for enhanced justice through claim-making, negotiation, improvisation, acts of everyday resistance and organised opposition.

The link between UHC reforms and health system governance: lessons from Asia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how and to what extent the design and implementation of universal health coverage (UHC) reforms have been influenced by the governance arrangements of health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC); and how governments in these countries have or have not responded to the challenges of governance for UHC.Design/methodology/approachComparative case study analysis of three Asian countries with substantial experience of UHC reforms (Thailand, Vietnam and China) was undertaken using data from published studies and grey literature. Studies included were those which described the modifications and adaptations that occurred during design and implementation of the UHC programme, the actors and institutions involved and how these changes related to the governance of the health system.FindingsEach country adapted the design of their UHC programmes to accommodate their specific institutional arrangements, and then made further modifications in response to issues arising during implementation. The authors found that these modifications were often related to the impacts on governance of the institutional changes inherent in UHC reforms. Governments varied in their response to these governance impacts, with Thailand prepared to adopt new governance modes (which the authors termed as an “adaptive” response), while China and Vietnam have tended to persist with traditional hierarchical governance modes (“reactive” responses).Originality/valueThis study addresses a gap in current knowledge on UHC reform, and finds evidence of a complex interaction between substantive health sector reform and governance reform in the LMIC context in Asia, confirming recent similar observations on health reforms in high-income countries.

The Asymmetric Fundamental Transformation

This paper examines how asymmetries between partners in the ability to appropriate the returns from collaboration affect governance choices and investment patterns. We consider multiple pairs of upstream and downstream firms, where firms must collaborate to improve product components. We show that when there are significant initial asymmetries in appropriability, components are easily redeployable and market size is sufficiently large for asymmetries to be exploited, then there exists a Pareto-inferior equilibrium where unstructured collaboration between independent firms breaks down. As a result, some pairs may be better off formalizing their relationship or integrating. All organizational forms (unstructured and structured partnerships, and integration) can co-exist in equilibrium, despite all pairs being identical ex ante and facing the same environment. The relationship is symbiotic: more hierarchical modes of governance exert a positive externality over less hierarchical modes, which allows the latter to be sustained.

Bridging the hierarchical and collaborative divide: the role of network managers in scaling up a network approach to water governance in California

Network governance represents an important approach to managing complex environmental challenges because of its capacity to support learning. However, multi-scalar problems often require networks to interface with hierarchical modes of governance. This paper examines how network managers can help mediate the potentially constraining influence of external demands on a network’s capacity for learning. It finds that a trusted lead agency can help bridge the hierarchical and collaborative divide by brokering across regional and state-level interests, developing processes that transform external requirements into learning opportunities, and supporting the development of informal dynamics in addition to formal rule compliance.

Between Big Ideas and Daily Realities – The roles and perspectives of Danish municipal green space managers on public involvement in green space maintenance

Public involvement (PI) in green space maintenance activities has increased during the past decades. The various (potential) benefits of PI have been recognised. Denmark, however, has no established tradition for such activities, despite its well-established tradition of volunteering. Local authorities have traditionally been the sovereign entity within public green space management, reflecting a hierarchical mode of governance. Yet, an increased call for new forms of local democracy and for new governance modes has resulted in growing attention for PI practices. Hence more knowledge is needed, for example on ongoing changes in governance arrangements regarding municipal green space.This paper thus aims to gain insight into (a) current governance arrangements with respect to municipal green space maintenance as well as temporal changes in these and (b) the consequences of the former for governmental actors and municipal managers in particular. An analytical framework based on governance theory and the Policy Arrangement Approach was developed to meet these aims. Data was collected by means of selected semi-structured interviews with green space managers from ten Danish municipalities.Findings show that green space PI occurred in all ten municipalities and thus that governance arrangements had started to include non-government actors, signalling a possible shift to co-governance from more common hierarchical governance modes. Green space managers felt themselves often ill-prepared for new governance arrangements and PI, e.g. in terms of lack of training and expertise. They based themselves strongly on their own experiences and preferences. More responsibility had been allocated to citizens, but often only to a select group of those who were already organised and/or had good connections with local authorities (i.e. closed co-governance). Green space managers listed a number of benefits of PI, generally adhering to the prevailing discourse of more co-governance. However, they also noted a number of challenges, including discrepancies between current maintenance practices and more PI. These, as well as a wider understanding of changing governance arrangements in green space management and maintenance, need to be addressed in future research.

Towards a Sustainable Campus: An Ecological Modernization Perspective

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is a signatory of the Tallores Declaration and as a role model, has to develop and maintain a sustainable campus. Political modernisation, a central tenet of Ecological Modernisation Theory, has transformed the traditional hierarchical mode of governance into a participatoryform. The focus of political modernisation is the government-industry linkage. The research here adopts a new variant of political modernisation by looking at the government-university linkage. This paper has a two-prong objective. The first objective is to test the applicability of political modernisation on the development of a sustainable campus. The second objective is to develop a quantitative methodology to test the linkages on the impact of the state’s environmental policy and reform on the development of a sustainable campus. The government-university linkage is operationalised via specific variables. Spearman’s correlation is used as ordinal data were obtained. A total of 60 respondents were selected via stratified sampling. The findings of this research show that the new variant of political modernisation in the form of government-university linkage has been proven quantitatively. Positive relationship exists between the state’s formulation of environmental policies cum laws and UKM’s formulation of environmental policy and the utilisation of science and technology. Likewise, the state’s implementation of environmental reform has a positive relationship with the campus environmental support system, the utilisation of science and technology and the creation or investment in environmental infrastructure by UKM. This also shows that the realm of environmental policy has moved into the implementation stage.

Planning Models in Sweden and Norway: Nuancing the Picture

This article nuances the picture given in current research of Swedish policy implementation and planning as consistent and predictable, and Norwegian policy implementation and planning as more unpredictable and fragmented. It does so by adding a discussion of the sources of legitimacy in each of the two national settings, arguing that each system has its distinct pros and cons. The Swedish planning system and local plan practices rest more firmly on a hierarchical mode of governance which is strong on operational efficiency, but suffers from a weaker sense of ownership to the plan outcome among private and civil society actors. In the Norwegian planning system and local plan practices, a combination of hierarchical and interactive governance measures, boasts a broader anchorage and resource division among public, private and civil society actors. However, this system experiences a lower operational efficiency due to the willingness to reconsider former decisions in order to find a viable compromise among different stakeholders in local plan processes, as well as stronger fragmentation due to the privatization of Norwegian detail planning. The empirical basis of the article is: a comparison of the two countries' plan legislation in terms of the inclusion of non‐public actors in plan provision and plan formulation; and four case studies of planning processes concerning the future use of an urban green area.

Innovative Governance in EU Regional and Monetary Policy-Making

The European Council of Lisbon (December 2000) formally adopted the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as a means to implement the Lisbon Strategy, a package of policies aimed at promoting economic and social innovations in the member states. The Open Method of Coordination is a means of governance based on the cooperation of member states. The formal introduction of the OMC, based on policy coordination at European level in order to induce change in national policies, triggered a lively scholarly debate on the role of new modes of governance in the EU. New modes of governance are roughly defined as non-hierarchical forms of political steering that rely on policy coordination among a multitude of institutional actors and across government levels. Scholars have coined a variety of terms to capture the characteristics of these governance modes, such as soft modes of governance, network governance, multilevel governance, experimental governance or, as we call it here and elsewhere, innovative governance. Despite the wide variety of terms, scholars hold several assumptions in common. Thus, most scholars assume that new modes of governance have only recently emerged. Furthermore, they assume that such modes of governance particularly emerge in policy areas where the Union lacks competences, while some form of common action is needed. Finally, many scholars take it for granted that non–hierarchical modes of governance result in weak impacts.

New governance and Physical Education and School Sport policy: A case study of School to Club Links

Background: International concern regarding the marginalisation of physical education in school curricula worldwide led to international calls for the establishment and strengthening of national, regional and local networks to integrate physical education into education, sports, health and related policies. The subsequent introduction of the national Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy in England in 2002 appeared to address some of these concerns and was an innovative, ground breaking infrastructure in which schools and local partners worked together to deliver PESS to their communities. The School to Club Links (SCL) initiative was one of nine PESSCL work strands designed to empower and strengthen the links between schools and local sports clubs in order to increase the number of children and young people in accredited sports clubs. A European Union (EU) study entitled the Current Situation and Prospects for Physical Education in the European Union trumpeted the PESSCL strategy as a model of good practice.Purpose: In this article we use the SCL work strand as a case study to examine the policy-making process. We draw upon a growing body of literature in political science that focuses upon the concept of ‘new governance’ which postulates that policy-making in Western states during the past 20 years has substantively changed from one of hierarchical modes of governance instigated by governments, to horizontal models that involve local policy actors and interest groups in power sharing agreements. This article investigates the extent to which these ‘new governance’ arguments hold true and are reflective of policy-making and implementation for PESS in England.Methods: We draw upon empirical data from a project that analysed policy change for selected aspects of the PESSCL strategy and the SCL work strand in particular. Interviews were conducted with a range of government, sport and education agents who had been involved in the policy area for at least five years in order to elicit an agent-informed perspective. Documentary analysis was also used, as it provided an ‘integrated and conceptually developed method, procedure and technique for locating, identifying and analysing documents for their relevance, significance and meaning’ and included a range of government sport policy documents, National (Sport) Governing Body (NGB) annual reports and inspection evidence from quangos such as Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust (YST).Data analysis: Our analysis used deductive and inductive procedures which involved scanning the data for categories and relationships among the initial pre-defined questions. As Ten Have suggests, a two-stage data analysis process was adopted. Inductive analysis was used in the examination of documentary evidence such as NGB annual reports, whilst deductive analysis arose from the insights provided by ‘new’ governance theory.Findings: Our data suggests that policy delivery and implementation in this case exhibits few of the characteristics highlighted by ‘new’ governance theory. Indeed we argue that such approaches that privilege the concept of decentralised power hold little weight in policy arrangements for SCLs in England. It appears that government intervention and centralised state control permeate all facets of policy delivery and implementation in this case.Conclusion: We propose that horizontal models of governance through the involvement of localised policy actors are not reflective of policy area delivery for SCLs. Indeed our case study reveals highly structured and hierarchical arrangements for policy delivery that exhibit little of the celebrated ‘new governance’ principles that many political scientists describe.

Governance and the functions of boards: An empirical study of hospital boards in Norway

ObjectiveThis paper describes the implementation of hospital governance under the Norwegian hospital reforms 2001–2008. MethodsData are analysed from interviews with key decision makers in hospital boards and among hospital managers (N=13), and a survey among a national sample of board members (N=130). The analysis integrates findings from both the qualitative and quantitative data, which are analysed according to the theoretical framework. ResultsThe findings indicate a transition of the roles given to the hospital board from a model with professional and autonomous boards towards two different roles. These roles are a mixture between the tasks of a formal decision body and the behaviour of a body to secure the interests of different stakeholders. ConclusionsThe hospital boards have to act in contexts of ambiguity and uncertainty. In such situations, a wide decision space will face the boards with problems related to emotions and opportunism. Thus, the principals in the context of public sector hospitals have to balance among strong political influence, hierarchical modes of governance and discretion given to the boards.

Shifting Governance Modes in Wetland Management: A Case Study of Two Wetlands in Bogotá, Colombia

The concept of governance increasingly dominates the discourse on environmental management. The traditional hierarchical mode of governance has, in many locations, been replaced by other modes of governance in which the market, network, or community are dominant (without substituting the role of the state). In this paper we examine the shifts in the relative prominence of governance modes for the management of two wetlands in the city of Bogotá. In both cases the hierarchical mode of governance was prominent until the 1990s, when nonstate actors became involved in the management of the two wetlands. One wetland is characterized by a mix in which the community mode of governance is prominent, whilst in the other wetland the network mode of governance appears prominent. With the shift in predominant governance mode, the sources of legitimacy on which the predominant mode is based also change. In the case of community governance, legitimacy is linked to identity and shared values, whilst in the network mode aspects such as technical expertise and credentials form the basis for legitimacy. We suggest that the difference in the governance trajectories of the two wetlands can be linked to the different characteristics of the neighborhoods surrounding the wetland and the initial nature of their involvement in wetland management. The cases also highlight the importance of the relative power of the actors, which underlie the shift from one predominant mode of governance to another mode, as it impacts their ability to influence decision making. The cases illustrate the changing nature of this relative power in wetland management in Bogotá.

Electronic Participation Policies and Initiatives in the European Union Institutions

Electronic participation (eParticipation) is increasingly employed by governments worldwide to broaden and deepen political participation. This is evident from the large number of relevant policy documents, initiatives, and platforms. In Europe, besides national governments, European Union (EU) Institutions are also actively promoting eParticipation. In this article, the authors investigate the eParticipation policies and current initiatives in the EU Institutions and introduce a theoretical framework upon which eParticipation-related documents and initiatives can be evaluated against parameters generated by democracy and governance theory. The main results of the survey indicate that the emphasis on hierarchical governance modes and emerging network elements employed by the EU in its rhetoric and implemented via eParticipation initiatives proclaimed the will to ensure legitimacy and expand connectivity between strong and weak publics in an open communication strategy.

The vexed Taiwan issue and its implications

Abstract Taiwan is a vexed issue, and having no definite sovereignty status at the inter-state level, it carries the potential for conflagration. There is palpably a contradiction between its de jure and de facto status. Contradiction is also discernible in realizing the right brand of nationalism and the question of justice in adopting the appropriate hierarchical mode of governance. As such, there is a need to rethink its status and also the surrounding security architecture. The actors concerned may have to confront high stakes if its status quo is changed. The “one China” policy is accepted by all—but its varying interpretations and ambiguities in different official documents and pronouncements, made mostly keeping in view the geopolitical and nationalist compulsions, give rise to concern. It has turned out to be a flashpoint whose political status will, hopefully, be finally decided peacefully in a mutually accepted agreement through dialogue and confidence-building measures. This paper examines the present status of Taiwan and the suggested ways forward for its final settlement, keeping in focus the security, political and economic realities—both in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, as well as the surrounding region. There is a suggestion for a people-centric, like people being masters of their own destiny (people-first) solution—maybe in order to preclude the geopolitical complexities.

Economic Reasoning or Experience-Based Capabilities? Effects of Alliance Experience on Governance Structure Design

Governance design of interfirm relationships has been primarily viewed as driven by transaction cost considerations. However, firm capabilities, in particular experience-based capabilities, have often been ignored in the decision making process of governance structures. This study proposes that firm experience from prior alliances builds capabilities and knowledge in managing interfirm relationships, thus influence choices of alliance governance modes. Drawing from the capability view and organizational learning literature, I argue that the diversity of alliance governance experience broadens the range of knowledge to manage cooperative relationships, thus reduces the need for more hierarchical governance modes in interfirm relationships. In addition, alliance experience in specific governance modes increases the likelihood that a firm chooses similar governance structures again, providing evidence for path-dependency in capability building. Hypotheses are supported by a sample of 1700 alliances formed by 152 focal companies in the US software design industry from 2001 to 2005.

Trust as a Shift Parameter in the Extended Transaction Cost Framework – A First Application to the Liquefied Natural Gas Industry

This paper provides an empirical analysis that examines the effect of both, transaction characteristics and the institutional environment on the choice of governance. Using a dataset of 237 corporate-specific value chains in the global LNG industry, we introduce inter-organizational trust as a shift parameter. First, following transaction cost economics (TCE), it is hypothesized that specific investments under uncertainty provide incentives to integrate vertically. Second, it is argued that inter-organizational trust changes the relative costs of vertical integration and non-integration and supports less hierarchical governance modes. These economic relationships are tested based on probit and ordered probit models. Estimation results provide broad support for TCE by showing that relationship-specific investments in an uncertain environment drive LNG companies to invest in successive stages along the value chain. The presence of inter-organizational trust increases the likelihood of less hierarchical governance modes. The consideration of a shift parameter further enhances the explanatory power of the model supporting the need for empirical studies accounting for both, transaction cost variables as well as variables capturing dynamics in the institutional environment.

Democracy promotion as external governance?

In supporting democratic norms in third countries the European Union (EU) uses network more than hierarchical modes of governance. The exception is where the adoption of internal modes is set as a condition for countries to join the Union. In other cases, limited bargaining power and complex domestic political structures in third countries militate against the use of hierarchy in democracy support policies. Geostrategic concerns over stability represent part of the causal dynamics of these two variables. There is some correlation between governance mode and effectiveness, but this is less strong than the role played by domestic politics in determining impact. The latter help to explain a breach between rule selection and application: EU governance rules are often transferred without significant impact on third country political dynamics.

Implementing new modes of governance in the New Zealand health system: An empirical study

Health governance internationally has become more complex, with both hierarchical and network modes of governance explicitly represented within single public systems. To understand the implementation of new modes and mechanisms of governance under New Zealand health reforms and to assess these in the context of international trends. Research methods sought data from key groups participating in governance policy and implementation. Methods included surveys of board members (N=144, 66% response rate), interviews with chairs (N=14) and chief executives (N=20), and interviews with national policy makers/officials (N=19) and non-government providers and local stakeholders (N=10). Data were collected over two time periods (2001/2002; 2003/2004). Analysis integrated the findings of both qualitative and quantitative methods under themes related to modes and mechanisms of governance. Results indicate that a hierarchical mode of governance was implemented quickly, with mechanisms to ensure political accountability to the government. Over the implementation period the scope of decision-making at different levels required clarification and mechanisms for accountability required adjustment. Non-government provider networks emerged only slowly whereas a network of statutory health organisations established itself quickly. The successful implementation of a mix of governance modes in New Zealand 2001-2004 was characterised by clear government policy, flexibility of approach and the appearance of an unintended network. In New Zealand there is less tendency than in some other some other small countries/jurisdictions towards centralisation, with local elections and community engagement policies providing an element of local participation, and accountability to the centre enhanced through political rather than bureaucratic mechanisms.